If you’ve recently gotten dentures and are finding they don’t fit in your mouth, you might experience gagging. This is perfectly normal, and you’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know about dentures and why you might gag because of them.

How Do I Stop Myself From Gagging Because of Dentures?

Gagging happens when dentures are too loose, move around in your mouth and touch your tongue or other parts of your throat. Sometimes the dentures are simply too big, causing them to touch your throat more than they should and instigating the gag reflex. Another thing to keep in mind is that your jawbone shrinks for six to 12 months after you’ve had your original teeth removed and replaced with dentures. This, as a result, leads to dentures moving around more than they should.

Here are some small ways to help stop you from gagging right away:

Cut food into small pieces, eating the appropriate foods during recovery

Use dental adhesive to help dentures stay in place

Once your jawbone has fully shrunken and adjusted, you should either reline the dentures or remake them. If your dentures fit and you’re still gagging, perhaps you’re just having trouble because you’ve never worn a set of dentures before. Adding a bit of dental adhesive to your dentures can help keep them firmly in place.

If you lack a healthy jawbone, wearing dentures might prove extremely difficult. As an alternative, you should talk with a prosthodontist about getting dental implants.

If you’ve recently gotten dentures in an attempt to bring your beautiful smile back to life, then you’re likely dealing with some aftereffects that could be annoying. Many new denture wearers find that their set just doesn’t fit – a common problem that can become frustrating the longer you wait for your new teeth to adjust to your mouth.

Common Signs Your Dentures are Too Big

After you’ve replaced your natural teeth with dentures, your mouth will take some time to adjust. In fact, your jawbone will shrink for anywhere from six to 12 months following your denture surgery, which can itself cause your dentures to feel too big. After surgery, your mouth will feel swollen and you’ll likely have to modify your bite to even the pressure your teeth distribute during the transition. Chewing is also an adjustment that will feel unusual at first. During this time, you should focus on eating soft foods and don’t require you to chew much, like scrambled eggs, pasta and bake potatoes. Remember to cut all your food into small pieces to help.

While adjusting to new biting and chewing habits, you might feel that your dentures aren’t the right size. Here are a few common signs that they might just be too big.

Also known as third molars, wisdom teeth are the last ones to develop. In some instances, wisdom teeth break through the gum line and the jaw is large enough to house them without problems. In most cases, though, the wisdom teeth emerge and become trapped within the jaw and impacted between the gum tissue and jawbone.

Symptoms of Impacted Teeth

Wisdom teeth that are impacted cause pain, swelling and infection of the surrounding gum tissue. Additionally, they can result in permanent damage to other teeth in the area, gums and bone. In severe cases, impacted wisdom teeth can lead to the formation of cysts or tumors that can destroy different parts of the jaw. Look for these signs when checking whether you have impacted wisdom teeth:

Red or swollen gums

Tender or bleeding gums

Pain in the jaw

Swelling around the jaw

Bad breath

Unpleasant taste in the mouth

Difficulty opening the mouth

Treatment of Impacted Teeth

Dentists advise patients with impacted wisdom teeth to remove them immediately through surgery. In some cases, your dentist will remove other teeth like cuspids and bicuspids because they can become impacted and cause the same issues. Prior to surgery, you won’t be able to eat for six hours. Your dentist will use an anesthetic or sedative, and the surgery typically lasts anywhere from an hour or two. While you’ll feel discomfort for the following week, this gradually disappears.

When someone decides to get dentures, whether a partial or a complete set, he or she often has many questions about the adjustment phase and how to care for them properly. One of the most common questions is whether you can wear your dentures all the time – day and night. While some people complain that it’s uncomfortable, dentists recommend that you take your dentures out before bed.

Rest Your Dentures and Allow Your Mouth to Recover

Dentists agree that any foreign object that covers your mouth’s tissues, such as your gums or your palate, should be removed every day. This gives your mouth’s tissues time to breathe and bathe in saliva. Removing your dentures every day also helps take pressure off the soft tissues and bones in your mouth, keeping them healthy. Although some dentists offer varying opinions on how long you should take your dentures out for, the general consensus it that you should do so for at least six hours. Of course, the best time to take your dentures out is at night, since it won’t impact your daily routine and impede on you showing off that bright smile.

Take Your Dentures Out to Avoid Health Risks

Considering that ill-fitting dentures can lead to periodontal disease, and sores resulting from loose dentures can become cancerous, it’s important that you give your mouth a rest and allow it to recover. That’s because the longer you wear your dentures, the more pressure you place on the soft tissues and bones in your mouth, which increases the risk that you’ll experience bone loss or loose dentures.

While dentures can transform your smile into a thing of beauty and attraction, there is a period of time in which you might experience a few problems with them. Don’t worry, though; the following five issues are common when adjusting to dentures.

Excess Saliva

As your mouth adjusts to the new dentures, its salivary glands might kick into 5th gear. This is perfectly normal, and your mouth will gradually adjust to the dentures. To help with excess saliva, eat a hard candy or mint and swallow more.

The Feeling of a Full Mouth

If you’re receiving dentures because you have missing teeth, having a full set might feel strange at first. The feeling of a full mouth is nothing to worry about. The longer you wear your dentures – it’s important you do so consistently – the stronger the muscles in your mouth will become. This will help hold your new dentures in place.

Soreness and Pain

During the first few hours of wearing your new dentures, you’ll likely experience some form of soreness and pain. Two ways of alleviating it is to either rinse your mouth with warm salt water or use denture adhesive to prevent movements that cause irritation. If the soreness and pain persist, call your dentist immediately.

Slip/Don’t Fit Properly

As mentioned, denture adhesive can help if you find that your new dentures frequently slip out of place because your tongue, cheek and lip muscles keep trying to push them out of your mouth. If you have older dentures that don’t fit properly anymore, resting on your jawbone or gum tissue, it’s time for replacement ones. Although a life with dentures can initially seem like a hassle, the rewards of a beautiful smile are worth it once you toughen it out through the adjustment period.